The Angel from Elsewhere
by lella7
Summary: Luna and Xenophilius Lovegood go on a trip to Stockholm to hunt for Crumple Horned Snorkacks, thoroughly confusing any Muggles they meet on the way. For the C-I-T-I-E-S competition on the HPFC forum.


**A/N- Written for the C-I-T-I-E-S competition on the HPFC forum :)**

The Angel from Elsewhere

Filip heard the door to reception open and hurriedly stashed his gameboy under the desk, trying to look professional and welcoming. The girl who had entered the lobby of his parents' bed-and-breakfast, however, made no attempt to approach the desk, but nor did she seem to be waiting for anyone. She merely scanned the room with a vaguely curious expression, as if she had wandered in by accident.

"Can I help you, Miss?" he asked in Swedish.

The girl turned and gazed at him, her head slightly tilted and the movement sent shimmers down her thin frame as if she was glowing with some heavenly, pearly light.

She walked towards him, and Filip realised that the light was not coming from the girl herself, but was reflected from the iridescent fabric of the strange, long, cream-coloured dress she was wearing. As she got closer, he became aware of several other odd details of her appearance. Bright pink berries hung from her ears, far too fresh and juicy-looking to be plastic and there seemed to be bottle corks hanging from her necklace.

"Hello," she stated simply. "You seem very friendly, but I'm afraid I don't understand what you're saying." She spoke in English, which surprised Filip. He had assumed from her blonde hair and pale complexion that she was Swedish too.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Miss. I speak English too."

"That's wonderful!" The girl's face broke into a wide smile. "We'll be able to understand each other." Her smile seemed genuine, but Filip couldn't help but wonder whether she was mocking him. British people were never normally this positive.

"Er... great. Do you have a reservation?" Filip asked.

"Oh, yes. At least I should have if this is the right place."

"What's your name?"

"I'm Luna, Luna Lovegood. You're Filip," she stated.

Filip was taken aback. "How did you know that?"

"It says Filip on your badge, so I assumed that was your name. I'm sorry if it's not."

"Oh... um... yes it is," Filip muttered, feeling a little stupid. "I'll just sign you in."

He did so and fetched Luna her key, all the while under the gaze of her wide, blue eyes, which unnerved him a little.

"So what brings you to Stockholm?" he asked, more to break the silence than for any other reason.

"Daddy and I are going to look for Crumple Horned Snorkacks. Apparently they're very abundant in Sweden and particularly attracted to the Stockholm archipelago because they're very friendly creatures and like to be near cities, but also gain their healing power from the sea."

"Crumpled... what?"

"I'm afraid that since you're a Muggle, I'm not allowed to tell you what they are. It's such a shame, they really are fascinating creatures, but I wouldn't want to break the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy."

Filip frowned. He wasn't sure whether the girl in front of him was making no sense, or his English was a lot worse than he thought it was.

"Sorry, Miss Lovegood, but I'm a little confused..."

"Yes," she replied, with a sympathetic nod. "I suppose you are. Oh, and please call me Luna."

At that moment, a man entered the lobby who could only be Luna's father. He had the same long, straggly, blond hair and was wearing similar pearly robes, looking even more eccentric than his daughter. The fact that he was carrying a large net only added to his bizarre appearance.

"Ah, you've got the key," he said, struggling to get through the door with the various pieces of complicated looking equipment he was carrying. "Let's get all of this into the room, we need to purify ourselves with dirigible plums before bed."

"Ok, Daddy," Luna replied, before turning back to Filip. "It was nice to meet you, Filip," she said and then shimmered off down the corridor, making him feel as if he had just met an angel. Perhaps he had.

"Nice to meet you too, Luna," he called after her.

Glancing down the corridor which Luna and her father were already halfway down, Filip could have sworn he saw Mr Lovegood slide the huge net into Luna's tiny handbag. But, of course, that was impossible.


End file.
